Training and learning Case Study Analysis
Table of Contents
Learning and development cycle. 3
Behavioral theories of learning. 3
Introduction
The paper will develop an analysis of a case study of Powerline Company in the light of training and development of the employees while working in a team. In this context, the various theories of learning will be described, along with the learning and development cycle. The evaluation and transfer of learning will be talked about, along with the persisting individual differences.
Discussion
Learning and development cycle
The learning and development cycle constitutes of four crucial steps, such as Identification of the learning needs of the individuals, planning and designing of the learning program, delivery of the learning training to the individuals and evaluation of the outcomes through performance management (Goodman et al. 2018, September). In this cycle, a strategy is developed by understanding the learning needs of the individuals. A learning program is prepared to deliver suitable training sessions to the employees. At the end stage, a range of methods is applied for assessing the performance of the individuals and take necessary measures in the coming days.
Considering the case of Powerline, it can be observed that the restructuring of the maintenance department has transformed the responsibilities of the Technical Engineers and has burdened them with additional tasks. Most of these engineers were unhappy with this change, and they are reluctant to carry out people management. This creates a need for training and development (Smith, 2016). Through proper training and development, the engineers would be aware of their new job roles and would be enthusiastic about their duties. The company can carry out the training and development program following the steps of the learning and development cycle.
Behavioral theories of learning
According to various researchers and scholars, behavioral learning can primarily be distinguished into three kinds, that is, classical conditioning, operant conditioning, and observational learning. In classical conditioning, two stimuli respond together for producing a new response, which is conditional. In operant conditioning, the created responses are influenced by consequences such as positive or negative reinforcements or two types of punishments (Nabi and Prestin, 2017). In observational learning, the learning process takes place through observation of the behavioral aspects of the individuals. Observational learning cannot be strictly categorized under behaviorism, it lies somewhere between behaviorism and cognitive learning.
Considering the case of Powerline, two kinds of behaviorism can be observed, that is, operant conditioning and observational learning. In this case, the management has put upon reinforcement by increasing the workload of the employees. This has negatively impacted the employees and has demotivated them (Hosseini, 2019). They were reluctant to handle their new jobs. Observational training has also been done in the company for recognizing the teams that were working hard on their duties and detect other teams that were not performing well due to specific reasons. These reasons were found out through consultation and communication and other methods. The geographic area has played a significant role in guiding these reasons.
Cognitive learning
Cognitive learning is a theory that finds out the difference in the mental processes and the way these thoughts are affected by the internal and external factors of the surrounding environment. The three cognitive processes can be observation, categorization, and generalization of the situation and its elements. These elements ultimately influence the learning procedure of the individuals (Schlüter et al. 2017). The cognitive processes can either work positively or negatively. A positive cognitive process leads to successful acquisition and storage of knowledge, while a negative cognitive process leads to delays and difficulties in learning.
In Powerline, the roles and responsibilities of the technical engineers have been increased, for which they should be capable of handling people. Better people management skills, the management has opened up a people management course for the employees. However, the employees have showcased negative cognitive development and have not upgraded their performances in the course of the learning program (Shen et al. 2019). This might be due to negative influences from the surrounding environment and an abrupt increase in the workload, which has demotivated the employees both internally as well as externally. Due to high targets and short deadlines, the employees have shown delays and difficulties in the learning process.
Evaluation of learning
Evaluation is a systematic process, which analyses the efficiencies and effectiveness of the training programs and training sessions. Through training evaluation, the extent of the growth and development of the employees can be suitably assessed (Kazi and Mir, 2017). This automatically shows features the learning and development of the employees. Most of these programs are aligned with the goals and objectives of the organizations.
After the conduction of the people management course in Powerline for four months, the manager has been very disappointed with the result. The manager has investigated the reasons and has found out that most of the technician managers have not paid attention to the course, and many others did not care to submit the assignments needed for gaining the qualification certificate (Butler et al. 2017). The manager has also collected the feedback of the employees by directly communicating with them. Some of these techniques have been applied to evaluating the performance of the employees.
Transfer of training
The transfer of training has different practical and theoretical applications. Theoretically, the transfer of training refers to the performance outcomes of a particular training program or a course conducted within the organization for the development of the employees. The result can either be positive, negative, or neutral, depending on the effectiveness of the program.
In Powerline, the technical engineering teams that were showing a lack of capabilities in people management were subjected to a people management course of four months accredited by the Institute of Management Improvement (IMI). This course is likely to provide a level 3 certificate in Management to all the employees and will help them in getting promoted with Powerline through their skills (Hang et al. 2019). However, the performance outcome of the course has been neutral as the employees did not show any sign of improvement. Through this program, it can be stated that the transfer of training and learning to the employees has not been successful due to specific reasons.
Individual difference
Individual differences relate to the distinctive and unique traits and attributes of individuals that distinguish them from other people. A person’s individuality can be well-defined through the individual differences possessed by him. Three important kinds of individual differences are intelligence, shades of personality, and behavioral values present in each person. Individual differences are endured psychological features that shape up the behavioral aspects of individuals and provides them with a sense of self. Cognition and behavior get affected by individual differences in weak situations. Such situations might arise when there is a lack of clearly defined and established norms in the organization.
Individual differences have also been observed in Powerline when some of the teams could easily take up the people management skills that were required in their transformation. On the contrary, other teams lacked people handling and management skills needed for the new job role (Zhang, 2019). It has been observed that the team leaders could successfully instill a work ethic culture among their teams, while other teams without a team leader could not function well in their areas. This shows that personality and behavioral aspects influence the individual differences within an organization and is manifested through the performance of their employees.
Conclusion
From the above discussion, it can be concluded that Powerline is currently facing issues in installing people management skills within the employees as some of them are demotivated to adopt these skills. The management, therefore, can devise better appraisal techniques and other methods for keeping all the employees on the same platform.
References
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